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Sunday, August 21, 2011

Another Onion 2026 and a Review

Another dress/smock made using Onion pattern 2026. The black was jersey from Spotlight and the patterned fabric was on sale at Knitwit a few months ago.

A have almost finished To Die for: Is fashion wearing out the world by Lucy Siegle. I think this is a must read. It is a book about the toll that fashion has on the environment and on the people that work in the industry. If you have ever wondered how some chain stores can make clothes so cheaply the answers are here and they are not pretty. As I sewed the dress above I wondered where the cotton came from and crossed my fingers it wasn't picked by forced child labour in Uzbekhistan and wondered how it was dyed and printed and the impact on the environment.

This book has definitely made me think about what I will buy in the future and what questions I want to ask about where and how fabrics and clothes are made. I hope with more and more people doing the same that we will be able to find the answers to these questions.

I'll definitely read this one, thanks for the recommendation. I've seen a few BBC documentaries on this topic and it's shocking. Sewing it yourself doesn't remove you from the system completely because of the fabric manufacture and I understand this. It's a half way better position but I agree that we must do better.

Great point, and I don't think it's just fashion; consumerism in general drives the production of excesses of cheap, crappy product (and quality product too) by unfair labour... and senseless use of the world's limited resources. It's a huge and depressing topic once you start thinking about it! When I see things like the current Big W ad promoting ridiculously low prices on clothes and electrical items, I can only think about how they must have been produced. I've been as guilty as anyone but I like to think I'm getting better at buying thoughtfully and buying less. There does seem to be a growing awareness. Let's hope the tide will turn.

Thanks for the recommendation, I have just ordered the book. I often wonder about pricing and clothes, especially with the cheap children's clothes around these days... it seems impossible that something can be manufactured, sent to Australia & sold for 100% mark up when the price is so low.